Research Interests
Research in the Gangloff Aquatic Conservation Research Lab (ACRL) is broadly focused on questions relating to how stream biota (primarily imperlied mollusks and crustaceans but also extending to fishes, amphibians and reptiles) respond to changes in physical and chemical habitat conditions.
My students and I are interested in both natural (e.g., stream size effects, watershed biogeochemistry, and beaver impoundments) and human-mediated (nutrient enrichment, habitat alteration and fragmentation by dams, landuse changes) factors affect stream ecosystems and biodiversity.
Ongoing research projects focus on the effects of small impoundments on musseles and fishes, mussel microhabitat use in large coastal plain rivers, sampling strategies for rare mollusks, phylogeny and phylogeography of freshwater invertebrates and effects of changing landuse on hellbender and invertebrate populations in the NC mountains.
The diverse range of ongoing projects in the ACRL translates directly to student opportunities. My graduate students and I welcome volunteers or students seeking to design an independent study or other directed research opportunity. Please contact Dr. Gangloff or one of his graduate students about opportunities for undergraduates in the ACRL.